Tuesday, September 23, 2003

1. You're 17 years old, it's a summer evening and you've got a car. What are you going to do?

This takes rather a stretch of my imagination, as I had neither car, nor driver's license until I was 21. (I didn't want to pay for insurance, and could generally ride my bike, the bus, or walk wherever I wanted to go). Lessee ... I was 17 from mid-junior year until mid-senior year of High School. Assuming I didn't have to work at my High-School job at Sister's Chicken and Biscuits, I would probably 1) read a book at home (David Eddings, Victoria Holt, or Phyllis A Whitney would be likely choices), 2) walk to my best friend (at the time), Rebecca's, house, or 3) go to a movie with Rebecca.

Yes, I was a nerd. I'm ok with that.

2. If you could magically achieve a PhD, what would be your area of expertise and why?

The answer I would have given all my life would be a resounding History studying the Holocaust, specifically. My fourth grade teacher read Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl to us, and it was all downhill from there. I read every Holocaust survivor story and most of the European theatre WWII books in the Westerville Public Library's Youth and Children's areas by the end of fifth grade. I read a lot of the adult books too. My Freshman year of High School, we had to write a book report about a biography. Most people chose really short books, I chose The Life and Death of Adolph Hitler. At Ohio State I took the WWII and Holocaust courses with my Social Studies Education major.

I think I'd be more into American religious movements now. I'm particularly interested in how those movements effected politics and the formation of the government in the 18th and 19th centuries. I took a course at OSU and wrote a paper on "Conventicals, Communions, and Camp Meetings." I wish I could find it, it was by far the best thing I wrote in college.

Well, that is a story. It begins with me not being able to live with my brother anymore. So, I contacted a friend of mine who was moving into town to see if she needed a roommate. Jen said she had one, but I could live with them. So Jen and Michelle (who comments here occasionally) and I met (once), found an apartment, and moved in together. The day we were moving in, I met Michelle's second cousin, Jason.

Generally, we were friends for three years. Hung out with Michelle and his roommate Shawn sometimes. In October of 1998, Jason set Michelle up on a semi-blind date (they had met once) with Mike. Michelle would only go if Jason went and I agreed to go to make it a "double" date, but was very clear that it wasn't a date.

Later, Jason needed someone to go to a Christmas party, I needed someone to go to a wedding. We became each other's default date.

Finally, he asked me out (after some not-so-subtle encouragement through Michelle). Our first real date was August 21, 1999 to the Ohio State Fair. We've at least spoken with or seen each other just about every day since. We were engaged in February of 2000 and married in December of the same year.

Awwwww.......

4. If you were an archaeologist, where would you dig and why?

Archaeology, hm? Like digging in dirt? [ew]

I suppose a library wouldn't be a good suggestion. You know, like in the stacks in Venice in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (not underneath with all the rats, though!)? I'm sure I could find some interesting tomes ...

5. Convince me that college football is an enjoyable sport.

I'm pretty sure its either in your blood, or not.

NCAA Division I football is full of heart, teamwork, the joy of success, and the pain of defeat. It has the blue-collar work ethic in the OL and DL. It has the glory of the skilled position. It is (well, should be) still an amateur sport, so you don't have to deal so much with divas (although we have some) like in the pros. Your team is bigger than the players; yet it allows players to play at the top of their game. It gives people the opportunity to get an education. The game itself is like an inelegant dance back and forth and back again. Formations, steps, plays, hits, avoiding-hits. The rules are clear, the application of the rules is imperfect, yet right.

And really, going to a game, with the band, and the crowd, and the atmosphere is fun.

::If you would like to participate too, here are your instructions:
1. Leave me a comment saying "interview me."
2. I will respond by asking you five questions (not the same as you see here).
3. You will update your blog/site with the answers to the questions.
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.::